


A Happy Reunion

by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel



Series: Light-Bringer [5]
Category: Young Wizards - Diane Duane
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Redeemed Lone Power, non-linear experience of time by a being existing outside of time, some spoilers for Wizards at War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 07:02:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8523244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel/pseuds/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
Summary: The Light-Bringer meets the Winged Defender for the first time since They took the Wizard's Oath.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So, just as the Lone Power can ahve multiple incarnations existing at once, my headcanon is that so can Winged Defender - which means that it's possible for them to experience the same event twice, from different perspectives.
> 
> Also, this is probably the last fic in this series, at least for the moment. We'll see if I post anything more in the future. Many thanks to all of you who have given kudos or commented on the fics in this series. I'm glad you've been enjoying them. :)

** A Happy Reunion **

It was a slow morning at Allbright & Associates, relatively speaking, which meant that while most of the staff were talking to clients, either in person or over the phone, Clara and the Light-Bringer were busy with other things. 

The Light-Bringer was busy typing up correspondence to an opposing law firm about an upcoming case, and They didn’t pay much attention at first when the door to the firm’s open-plan office opened, and a woman walked in. But after a moment They felt eyes on Them, and looked up, mostly out of instinct.

The woman was young, with light brown hair and strong features, dressed in a casual top and jeans, and it didn’t matter that They had never seen her before in Their life – They’d recognise that person anywhere.

For a long moment all They could do was stare, as a familiar smile made its way across unfamiliar features, and the young woman walked forward.

A dark, angry little voice reminded Them that this was the same Power who had cast Them out: but the Light-Bringer’s growing happiness swept the voice aside. They stood up, smiling so hard it hurt, and moved to greet the other Power.

“Winged Defender,” They said, and heard Clara gasp from where she sat one desk over.

“Light-Bringer,” said the Winged Defender, smiling just as much as They were.

“It’s so good to see you,” the Light-Bringer said, and the Winged Defender stood on tip-toe, putting Their arms around the Light-Bringer to hug Them tightly. The Light-Bringer hugged back, ignoring Clara’s dropped jaw and David’s raised eyebrows.

It had been so long since They had run into the Winged Defender with anything but malice in Their heart, but here the two of them were, both on the same side at last, with no reason for their reunion to be anything but happy. 

When the Winged Defender stepped back, the Power was grinning.

“It’s good to see you too,” the Winged Defender said. “And doing the right thing, as well.”

“Lucien,” David called over from where he was talking to a client, his voice dry, “you’re about due to go to lunch. If this is a personal visit, perhaps it would be better for it to take place during your lunch break?”

The Light-Bringer couldn’t help his smile.

“Yes, of course,” he called back. “Sorry, boss.”

David turned back to his client, and the Light-Bringer smiled at the Winged Defender.

“There’s a restaurant not far from here. Shall we go there?”

“Let’s,” the Winged Defender agreed, taking Their arm.

It was only a short walk to the restaurant, and the entire way the Light-Bringer felt like Their insides had filled with light, to the point where They were almost surprised that They weren’t literally glowing. It had been a long time since They and the Winged Defender had been on good terms, and They hadn’t quite realised how much they had _missed_ the other Power. Part of Them was still hurt and angry that the Winged Defender had cast them out: but that part was drowned out by the sheer gladness They felt at being in the Winged Defender’s company again.

When the two of them reached the restaurant they each took a seat, and a waiter immediately made his way over to ask about their lunch order. The Light-Bringer ordered a dish from memory, but the Winged Defender perused the menu for a couple of minutes before ordering. The waiter took both menus with him as he departed for the kitchen, leaving the Light-Bringer and the Winged Defender alone at their table.

Winged Defender lightly kicked the Light-Bringer under the table, Their smile bright, and the Light-Bringer couldn’t even bring Themself to give a token scowl.

“So,” the Winged Defender said. “Here we are.”

“Here we are,” the Light-Bringer echoed.

“I’m a wizard, by the way,” said the Winged Defender. “Athena Morgan. And before you ask, no, no one’s caught on yet that I’m me. They think I’m just another wizard.”

The Light-Bringer grinned, sharing in the Winged Defender’s amusement.

“Lucien Milton, and unfortunately almost everyone in this area knows who I am,” They said. “Most of the kids take it pretty well, though, even if the adults sometimes don’t.”

The Winged Defender’s gaze became suddenly intent.

“Anyone in particular been giving you trouble?”

The Light-Bringer made a face.

“One or two people,” They admitted. “But I can deal with it.”

The Winged Defender didn’t look away from Them.

“Our intention was always to redeem you, you know,” the Winged Defender said. “We never intended to cast you out forever. I just want you to know that.”

The Light-Bringer felt Their features soften.

“I know,” They said. “That’s been made abundantly clear to me, even if I wasn’t willing to see it for a long time. I think some of the older wizards resent it, to be honest. They don’t think that I _deserve_ redemption.”

The Winged Defender shook Their head, and Their long hair rippled over Their shoulders.

“Forgiveness is a gift. It’s not about whether someone deserves it or not. Besides,” the Winged Defender added, “you’re trying to make up for what you’ve done, aren’t you?”

The Light-Bringer felt Their smile falter a little.

“I try, but I’m not sure that I succeed,” They confessed. “There is so much to make up for.”

The Winged Defender kicked Them under the table again.

“The trick is to keep trying,” the Winged Defender said. 

“Noted,” said the Light-Bringer. “And don’t kick me.”

“Sorry,” the Winged Defender said. But her grin was anything but apologetic.

“Sometimes your sense of humour leaves a lot to be deserved,” the Light-Bringer grumbled.

“So does yours,” Winged Defender said easily. 

The Light-Bringer thought of Their Star Wars _The Dark Side Made Me Do It_ t-shirt, which They’d bought mostly to amuse-slash-irritate Dairine, and knew that the Winged Defender had a point. Not that the Light-Bringer was about to admit it.

“I’m not the one kicking people under the table,” They said, and the Winged Defender rolled Their eyes.

“You’ve done far worse than kick people under the table,” the Winged Defender said, but Their voice was teasing, and noticeably fond.

“Perhaps,” said the Light-Bringer, “but do you see me doing it now?”

The Winged Defender just smiled at Them in a friendly way, and the Light-Bringer gave up. 

“Tell me what you’ve been doing in this incarnation,” They said instead.

It turned out that Athena Morgan had lived an interesting life, with parents who didn’t have a clue about their child’s wizardry but managed to be supportive parents nonetheless. Athena had become a wizard at twelve, faced down the Lone Power not long after while keeping Their true nature hidden, and had done a number of other exciting things while on errantry. They were currently a college student, majoring in political science, with an eye to working for a particular non-profit organisation once They graduated.

“It’s difficult, fitting wizardry in around everything else, but I manage,” the Winged Defender said. A smile touched her lips. “Imagine my surprise when a few days ago I heard some young wizards talking about a wizard with a name I hadn’t heard in a long time. Apparently they were part of a group who came to you for assistance when all their Seniors and Advisories had lost their wizardry during the attack of the Pullulus. They were very willing to tell me all about how helpful you’d been.” 

They wanted to make a face at that, out of long habit, but were too touched for it to come out right. The expression came out looking pleased, instead.

The waiter came out with their meals, then, and the Light-Bringer waited until he was gone to respond to the Winged Defender’s comment.

“I feel that the Pullulus situation was uniquely irritating for me in a way it wasn’t for everyone else,” the Light-Bringer said. “I mean, rarely have I felt such a desire to punch another aspect of myself quite as much as I did during that incident.”

The Winged Defender laughed.

“You have no idea how busy I was, as the oldest human on the planet who still remembered how wizardry worked. By the end of it I had so many young wizards popping in to ask me for advice I had to get Angela to work out a system for prioritising everyone’s needs.”

“Angela?” the Winged Defender asked, still looking amused.

“A young wizard of my acquaintance,” said the Light-Bringer. “She lives in London, so it’s quite a jump from there to here. I rescued her from the Moon once, and ever since then she’s come to me now and then for advice. During the Pullulus event she hopped over during a spare moment to see how I was doing, and ended up coordinating everyone who’d come to me for help.”

“You have no one to blame but yourself, you know.”

“I know. It’s very frustrating, at times.”

“But worth it,” said the Winged Defender, looking knowing. The Light-Bringer didn’t even try to argue.

“What were you up to, during that whole mess?” the Light-Bringer asked, because while They’d heard a summary from Nita and Kit and Ronan, They wanted to hear it from the Winged Defender Themself.

“Well, this was the second time I’ve lived it, but if you’re talking about the first time, when I was with Ronan...”

The Winged Defender launched into a recital of everything that had happened.

“...and it turns out, the Spear was never even meant for me in the first place, it was meant for the Hesper,” the Winged Defender said, and grinned like someone sharing a great joke.

“Yes, Ronan told me about that,” said the Light-Bringer dryly. “He wasn’t nearly as amused.”

The Winged Defender shrugged, still grinning.

“Well, I thought it was hilarious.”

“You would.”

The Light-Bringer glanced at his watch, then, and realised he was roughly ten minutes overdue to be back at the office. He made a regretful face.

“I hate to cut things short, but...”

“You need to get back? No problem,” said the Winged Defender, and the two of them stood up.

“Since I picked the restaurant, I’ll pay,” the Light-Bringer offered, signalling to the waiter to bring the bill for their meals.

The Winged Defender smiled.

“Thanks. I’d pay my share, but, well, struggling college student.”

“It’s not a problem,” said the Light-Bringer, and They paid the bill for his meal and the Winged Defender’s.

Together, the Light-Bringer and the Winged Defender stepped out into the street, and began walking back towards the building where the Light-Bringer worked.

“Feel free to drop by for a visit any time you like,” said the Light-Bringer to the Winged Defender. “My details should be in the Manual. Although it’s quite possible that Dairine Callahan will already be there, if you do drop by.”

The Winged Defender grinned.

“Dairine Callahan? There’s a kid I’d like to meet again. And thanks,” They added.

When the pair reached the Light-Bringer’s building the Winged Defender gave the Light-Bringer another hug, before stepping away.

“I’ll be in touch,” They said, and gave one last wave as They turned away, and began heading back the way the two of them had come.

When the Light-Bringer let Themself back into the office, the intern asked, “Girlfriend?”

The Light-Bringer made a face. For a moment They considered replying with ‘sister’ – but that was too easily checked and Lucien Milton was, and had always been, an only child. 

“Cousin,” They corrected. “I forget the exact degree of relationship.”

The intern looked abashed. Clara just sent the Light-Bringer a smile, knowing exactly who the Winged Defender was.

They smiled back, and wondered how long it would be before the Winged Defender decided to drop by. They hoped that it was sometime soon.

 

 

 


End file.
